offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring you

If you happen to follow the financial news at all, you've likely noticed a bit of flurry about the secured loans UK market in recent months. The source of the flurry is all the recent changes to regulation in the loans industry, and the suggestion that there is regulation coming from the FSA for secured loans greater than ?25,000. If all this is confusing to you - and it's confusing to nearly everyone - here's how regulations in the secured loans UK market lay out at present, and what's happened recently to put it all in question.

- Secured loans under ?25,000 are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act of 1974. Those loans come under the oversight of the Financial Services Authority, along with mortgages and unsecured loans. Those regulations include important protections for consumers, including a cooling off period during which they can rescind their loan agreement.

- The 2004 Consumer Credit (Advertisement) Act of 2004 regulates what secured loans UK lenders may advertise. It states that advertisements must convey a fair and reasonably comprehensive indication of the nature and true cost of the credit. That goes beyond the 1974 act, which merely prohibited misleading or false adverts. Now adverts for secured loans must tell you how much the loan will realistically cost you.

- Secured loans of less than ten years are also regulated by the FSA, at least in terms of how early repayment penalties are calculated. Until 2005, there were few regulations about how much a lender could charge a customer for repaying a loan ahead of schedule. That trapped many consumers in loans that charged exorbitantly high interest, even after their circumstances changed enough to allow them to qualify for a lower interest loan.

- Secured loans of over ?25,000 are NOT regulated by the FSA. They do fall under the auspices of the Office for Fair Trade, however, the body that licenses them. The OFT can revoke their license if they are shown to be not playing nicely with consumers.

Unfortunately, that hasn't stopped a lot of unscrupulous secured loans UK lenders from taking advantage of the naivet? and desperation of borrowers who can't qualify for loans from the High Street banks. That's why it's vital that if you decide to take out a secured loan in the UK, you do your research to be sure that you're getting not only a fair deal, but the best possible deal.

Tips for Finding Fair Secured Loans in the UK

- Shop around. All lenders must provide information on their Annual Percentage Rate as a means of comparison. The APR that they advertise is what's called a 'typical' APR - the rate that most of those who are approved for a loan by them are offered. It is NOT necessarily the rate that YOU will be offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring your

ority, along with mortgages and unsecured loans. Those regulations include important protections for consumers, including a cooling off period during which they can rescind their loan agreement.

- The 2004 Consumer Credit (Advertisement) Act of 2004 regulates what secured loans UK lenders may advertise. It states that advertisements must convey a fair and reasonably comprehensive indication of the nature and true cost of the credit. That goes beyond the 1974 act, which merely prohibited misleading or false adverts. Now adverts for secured loans must tell you how much the loan will realistically cost you.

- Secured loans of less than ten years are also regulated by the FSA, at least in terms of how early repayment penalties are calculated. Until 2005, there were few regulations about how much a lender could charge a customer for repaying a loan ahead of schedule. That trapped many consumers in loans that charged exorbitantly high interest, even after their circumstances changed enough to allow them to qualify for a lower interest loan.

- Secured loans of over ?25,000 are NOT regulated by the FSA. They do fall under the auspices of the Office for Fair Trade, however, the body that licenses them. The OFT can revoke their license if they are shown to be not playing nicely with consumers.

Unfortunately, that hasn't stopped a lot of unscrupulous secured loans UK lenders from taking advantage of the naivet? and desperation of borrowers who can't qualify for loans from the High Street banks. That's why it's vital that if you decide to take out a secured loan in the UK, you do your research to be sure that you're getting not only a fair deal, but the best possible deal.

Tips for Finding Fair Secured Loans in the UK

- Shop around. All lenders must provide information on their Annual Percentage Rate as a means of comparison. The APR that they advertise is what's called a 'typical' APR - the rate that most of those who are approved for a loan by them are offered. It is NOT necessarily the rate that YOU will be offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring you

FSA, at least in terms of how early repayment penalties are calculated. Until 2005, there were few regulations about how much a lender could charge a customer for repaying a loan ahead of schedule. That trapped many consumers in loans that charged exorbitantly high interest, even after their circumstances changed enough to allow them to qualify for a lower interest loan.

- Secured loans of over ?25,000 are NOT regulated by the FSA. They do fall under the auspices of the Office for Fair Trade, however, the body that licenses them. The OFT can revoke their license if they are shown to be not playing nicely with consumers.

Unfortunately, that hasn't stopped a lot of unscrupulous secured loans UK lenders from taking advantage of the naivet? and desperation of borrowers who can't qualify for loans from the High Street banks. That's why it's vital that if you decide to take out a secured loan in the UK, you do your research to be sure that you're getting not only a fair deal, but the best possible deal.

Tips for Finding Fair Secured Loans in the UK

- Shop around. All lenders must provide information on their Annual Percentage Rate as a means of comparison. The APR that they advertise is what's called a 'typical' APR - the rate that most of those who are approved for a loan by them are offered. It is NOT necessarily the rate that YOU will be offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring you

ulous secured loans UK lenders from taking advantage of the naivet? and desperation of borrowers who can't qualify for loans from the High Street banks. That's why it's vital that if you decide to take out a secured loan in the UK, you do your research to be sure that you're getting not only a fair deal, but the best possible deal.

Tips for Finding Fair Secured Loans in the UK

- Shop around. All lenders must provide information on their Annual Percentage Rate as a means of comparison. The APR that they advertise is what's called a 'typical' APR - the rate that most of those who are approved for a loan by them are offered. It is NOT necessarily the rate that YOU will be offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring you

offered, but it affords you a comparison point.

- Know how much you can afford to pay per month. Yes, we know that differs from the usual advice to compare loans by total cost. The fact is, though, that you'll be paying off the loan by the month - if you can't afford the monthly payments, you risk losing your house. At that point, it won't matter that you saved ?500 over the life of the loan.

- When asking for secured loans quotes, always request that the lender do a 'quotation check' rather than a full credit check. The quotation check doesn't count on your credit report as a loan application, which could bring your credit score down.

- Use online loan comparison services like "advancestart.com" to help you narrow down your choices before you ask for loan rate quotes.